Samsø Energy Academy

Tuesday, February 20, 2007   (updated Monday, October 26, 2009)

Samsø has a new attraction – the Samsø Energy Academy close to the picturesque harbour village and tourist magnet Ballen. Samsø has amassed a great deal of concrete experiences with the implementation of a broad variety of local renewable energy project, from wind turbines to CO2 neutral district heating plants, rapeseed oil tractors and solar energy panels. This experience can be drawn upon through the Academy and research workers and scientists from at home and abroad spend time at the Academy doing research based on the easy access to all these different energy systems, where windmills, straw-based districting heating and thermal solar panels systems and the people who initiated them are close at hand.

The Academy also functions as a conference centre where companies, scientists and politicians can discuss renewable energy, energy savings and new technologies. Samsø Energy and Environment Office, Samsø Energy Agency and the Samsø branch office of the Danish Energy Service reside in the Energy Academy. From this common domicile, they run a broad spectrum of energy counselling services for commercial and private customers, organize guided energy tours, workshops and seminars and generally promote ‘energy tourism’ for energy professionals.

Classes on school trips and island tourists
During the summer, tourists and other energy interested visitors will be able to use the Academy as an exhibition for renewable energy.

The experimentarium is also a specific activity to meet the needs of school classes on fieldtrips to Samsø to learn more about renewable energy.

The Academy accomodates many domestic and foreign professionals visiting the energy island project, not by housing or feeding them, but by making arrangements, giving lectures, talks and guided tours. More than 2000 politicians, ambassadors, officials, scientists, journalists, students and interested individuals visit the energy island project annually.

The building itself
The Energy Academy is designed to meet a number of broad ecological building principles and guidelines. It boasts an agreeable indoor climate with natural ventilation of the many work stations and large rooms. It uses a minimal amount of drinking water and uses rainwater to flush toilets, etc. Its walls and windows are highly insulated to minimize energy consumption and the building is heated by the local straw-based district heating plant. A small thermal solar system delivers the hot water and is designed to facilitate exhibition purposes.

All electric appliances are A-class energy savers, the electric lighting is low energy and the windows are positioned to maximize the passive solar energy contribution. Electricity is supplied by a battery of PV solar cells, supplemented by Samsø grid electricity, which for the most part is delivered by the island wind turbines.